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Archive for March, 2011

Over a platform, eight volumes are built, in which the significance of each volume is reinforced by repetition, not equal, but identical. The buildings have the same distance between themselves, repeating their external image, their height and width. The variation happens in their length and thus footprint on the platform. As abstract objects the volumes are on the border of the platform, releasing a vast area in the center. In the core of the intervention, the platform slab is cut to illuminate the internal plaza, one level below, from where all the accesses to offices are located. The square promotes the connection of all four surrounding streets. The façades expose a constant module, defined not by a materiality (concrete or stone) but by an immateriality: light alignments that cross from the gallery wall to the ceiling.

This community prototype calls for a targeted approach to true sustainability and a cost effective model as key residential, commercial, cultural and institutional components reside on the same one block site. It is a de-facto return to the true, urban planning model (at least from a practical standpoint) that came to prominence in the 19th and 20th Centuries. This model proved most sensible where most goods and services were locally provided to the neighborhood. The advantage is that residents would have essential elements of their neighborhood within walking distance of less than one city block; in this case the study is in the Gowanus – Red Hook section of Brooklyn. Post-Industrial land can be developed as an ‘all-in-one’ community where residents with growing families have educational, commercial and cultural outlets at their disposal; additionally, a working farm is there to not only provide fresh, local produce to the area residents, but also to sell on the open market to supplement operating costs for the entire development; this also helps to decrease the need for fossil fuels.

The Libeskind Villa is a dynamic 5,000-square-foot signature series home that can be constructed anywhere in the world. Like a crystal growing from rock, the Villa creates a new dialogue between contemporary living and a completely new experience of space. Built from premium wood and zinc, this German-made, sculptural living space meets the highest standards of design, craftsmanship and sustainability. In addition to the design standards, it meets compliance with some of the toughest energysaving standards worldwide.

BNKR Arquitectura’s first religious commission was a wedding chapel conceived to celebrate the first day of a couple’s new life. Our second religious commission had a diametrically opposite purpose: to mourn the passing of loved ones. This premise was the main driving force behind the design, the two had to be complete opposites, they were natural antagonists. While the former praised life, the latter grieved death. Through this game of contrasts all the decisions were made: Glass vs. Concrete, Transparency vs. Solidity, Ethereal vs. Heavy, Classical Proportions vs. Apparent Chaos, Vulnerable vs. Indestructible, Ephemeral vs. Lasting…

Like pebbles in a stream smoothed by erosion, the Guangzhou Opera House sits in perfect harmony with its riverside location. The Opera House is at the heart of Guangzhou’s cultural development. Its unique twin-boulder design enhances the city by opening it to the Pearl River, unifying the adjacent cultural buildings with the towers of international finance in Guangzhou’s Zhujiang new town.

The 1,800-seat auditorium of the Opera House houses the very latest acoustic technology, and the smaller 400-seat multifunction hall is designed for performance art, opera and concerts in the round.

The hill of the Japanese Garden was created from the debris of the Zoo and its surroundings after World War II. Initially there was an open air stage here, which however was unutilised for major parts of the year occupying this otherwise rather narrow area. The Japanese Garden was developed in its place and a park library was also in the plans, although it only operated for a few years. The Zoo made the decision to create a Japanese Garden in 1958. During the almost ten years of the preparatory work the former stage hill was covered by grass, the topography of the area was established and the roads renovated.

The wines of the Laposa-Cellar following the millennium became well known amongst Hungarian wine drinkers under the brand name “Bazaltbor” or Basalt wine. Their growing regions are only on the basalt hills – in Badacsony, Somló, on Szentgyörgy-hill and Csobánc – which is the reason for the characteristic mineral aromas of the wines that mirror their terroir. The cellar today harvest from over 20 hectares local and international varieties, amongst others Szürkebarát, Juhfark, Olasz- and Rajnai Riesling or Kéknyelű. The market entry and dynamic growth of the cellar has also resulted in the expansion of the technological and tourism areas. During the development, besides increasing the scale, the aim on both an architectural and viticultural level was to modernise and maintain the making and presentation of the basalt wine.

Crystal Lake was a competition to design the architecture of multi-phased mixed-use complex in Xiamen. The project strives to create a modern interpretation of the Jiageng style, which is a fusion of western and Chinese architecture. To break down the scale of the buildings patterns are articulated on the façades. These patterns help maintain a design consistency through the project to create the sense of village living across the development.